Leighann Dobbs - Lexy Baker 09 - Ice Cream Murder

by Leighann Dobbs

  “Yes, actually. Larry had several. First off, he was opposed to the way Banks Development did business, so getting Regis and then Winston out of the way would give him and Olivia controlling interests.”

  “Don’t tell me you think he’ll kill Olivia next to get everything.”

  Lexy pressed her lips together. She hadn’t considered that. Would he?

  “I was kidding,” Jack said. “So what are his other motives?”

  “Well, the second one would be to get more of the Banks money, of course.”

  “How would he get more of the Banks money?” Jack’s brow creased. “I doubt Winston willed his inheritance to Larry.”

  “That brings me to the third and probably most compelling reason.” Lexy paused for effect. “Larry and Winston’s wife, Evelyn, were having an affair.”

  Jack’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “An affair? How do you know that?”

  “We did some surveillance and we have pictures.”

  “Maybe it was Evelyn.”

  “She has an alibi for that morning—she was away at a convention.”

  “Hmm… that’s certainly interesting. I’ll have to get those from Nans. You guys might be on to something.”

  Pride swelled in Lexy’s chest. “So you admit I’m getting pretty good at this investigating stuff.”

  Jack draped his arm around her shoulders and nuzzled her ear. “Among other things.”

  Lexy giggled. “We could go upstairs and you could test me on those other things.”

  Jack removed his arm. “Actually, I was referring to cleaning out my house. I want to get that finished up soon so we can put it on the market this summer. That’s the best time to sell a house.”

  Lexy’s shoulders slumped. “I guess I have been neglecting that. I promise to help tomorrow night. I have agility class at five, but after that I’m all yours.”

  “Great. It’s a date, then.” Jack swilled down his wine. “If you see Nans tomorrow, tell her I want those pictures … oh, and the toxicology test she ordered should be back from the lab tomorrow. That might give us some ideas on how to prove Larry is the killer … if he actually is.”

  “I’m sure she’ll be happy about that.”

  “Yeah, and don’t let her forget, Mike is expecting an apple pie for that.”

  Lexy laughed. “I just hope she doesn’t expect me to bake it. She has more of a talent for those than I do.”

  Jack took the wine glass out of her hand and set it on the counter, then pulled her toward the living room. The glint in his eye kicked her heartbeat up a notch.

  “I know that you have some talents that are much more interesting than baking apple pies … and now would be a perfect time for you to show them to me.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Things have actually been going pretty smoothly without you here,” Cassie said as she creamed together shortening, sugar and eggs.

  Lexy frowned at the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt mixture she was sifting together. She didn’t like the way that sounded—almost as if she wasn’t needed in her own bakery.

  “I mean, it’s still better when you are here,” Cassie added after noticing the look on Lexy’s face. “And we can use the extra help to replenish our supply of Snickerdoodles.”

  Lexy laughed as she handed the bowl of dry ingredients to Cassie.

  “I know that Nans thinks giving people cookies will get them to open up and talk.” She poured some sugar and cinnamon into a shallow bowl, mixing the two together with a fork. “But the truth is, I think the ladies have been eating most of them.”

  Cassie laughed. “No doubt.”

  The girls dug teaspoon shaped balls out of the batter, rolled the balls in the cinnamon and sugar mixture and set them on a cookie sheet. Lexy could almost taste the buttery cinnamon flavor of the cookies as she slid the sheet into the oven.

  The bells over the front door to the shop chimed.

  “Your turn,” Cassie said not taking her eyes off the red velvet cake she was frosting.

  “Got it.” Lexy wiped the flour off her cherry pattern vintage 1950s apron and headed for the front room. She should have known who it would be—Nans, Ruth, Ida and Helen. It was almost as if they had a sixth sense and knew she’d just put in a fresh batch of Snickerdoodles.

  “You guys are a little early.” Lexy made a big show of looking at her watch. “The Snickerdoodles won’t be out for six more minutes.”

  Nans chuckled and helped herself to a coffee from the self-serve station. “Oh, we didn’t come for cookies. We were just discussing the new developments in the case and wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page.”

  “We knew you’d be working today, so we thought we’d come to you,” Ruth added.

  “Although, fortifying ourselves with some pastries wouldn’t hurt,” Ida eyed the pastry case.

  Lexy couldn’t help but smile. “Okay. You guys get coffee and I’ll fix up a plate.”

  She opened the pastry case and pulled out some of yesterday’s scones and brownies. If the ladies were going to eat all her profits, she might as well give them the day old items she was going to have to pack up for the soup kitchen anyway.

  The four ladies settled at a table, the white ceramic coffee mugs that Lexy supplied for customers who ate in the cafe sitting in front of them. Lexy put the tray on the table and they each selected a pastry, putting their napkins primly on their laps and taking a nibble.

  “Okay. Let’s get to it.” Nans brushed crumbs from her hand onto her plate.

  “I checked out Evelyn’s alibi and verified she was a thousand miles away at the Organic Growers conference, so she couldn’t have put anything in Winston’s food that morning or even the day before,” Ruth said.

  “But she and Larry could have been in on it together and the conference gives her the perfect alibi. Maybe that’s why she went.” Ida broke off a piece of scone and popped it into her mouth.

  “Either way, I’m willing to bet Larry put something in that drink. But, of course, the glass has been washed by now, so we can’t test it,” Nans said. “Anyone have any ideas on what we can do to get some evidence against him?”

  “We’ve already proven he had motive and opportunity.” Helen ticked the two items off on her fingers. “I guess we just need to prove the means.”

  “Which we can do by catching him with the poison,” Ida added.

  “Except we don’t know what the poison was,” Ruth pointed out.

  “Jack said the toxicology report should be in today … oh, and you owe Mike an apple pie,” Lexy said.

  Nans grimaced. “I guess I do. Did you tell Jack about Larry giving Winston special juice at breakfast?”

  “I did,” Lexy said. “And I also told him about Larry and Evelyn’s affair. He wants copies of those pictures. He seemed very interested in our theories.”

  Nans beamed with pride. “Ruth, can you email Jack the pictures? I’ll just give him a call and let him know we are sending them and see if the toxicology report came back yet.”

  Nans reached into the gigantic beige patent leather purse that hung on the back of her chair, pulled out her iPhone and called Jack.

  “Hi, Jack, it’s Mona. I was wondering about that toxicology report …”

  Everyone at the table watched Nans expectantly.

  “Yes, I know I have to bake a pie,” Nans rolled her eyes and made circling motions with her hand.

  “Okay, that’s the only thing that came up?” Nans pulled out a pen and started to write something, then paused her pen in mid-air.

  “What do you mean our theory just got shot?” Her forehead creased into dozens of wrinkles.

  Lexy watched as three pairs of gray eyebrows rose.

  “Tried to kill him? But how do you know that wasn’t an accident?”

  Ruth, Ida and Helen’s eyes got a little bigger and they put their pastries down on their plates.

  “Jiminy Cricket, that sure does change things. I’ll get my people on
it right away.” Nans disconnected, a look of worry on her face.

  “Well, what is it?” Ruth demanded.

  “It looks like Larry might not be the killer after all.”

  “What? Why do you say that?” Helen asked.

  “Jack just told me that Larry was found in his cabin unconscious. He was rushed to the hospital with carbon monoxide poisoning.”

  “How does that prove he’s not the killer?” Lexy asked.

  “When the police heard about another Banks family member in critical condition, they got suspicious and went to his cabin to investigate. He has a kerosene heater that’s vented to the outside—someone had plugged up the flu with rags!”

  “So someone tried to kill him on purpose and probably thought it would look like another accident,” Helen said. “I bet they were going to go back and take the rags out later on, so everyone would have thought there was a leak from the heater. Goodness knows there have been enough reports of carbon monoxide leaks in the papers so no one would think anything of it.”

  “This sure does put things in a different perspective.” Nans drummed her fingers on the table.

  “It looks like someone is killing off the Banks family and that leaves only one member that hasn’t been targeted,” Ruth said.

  “Olivia!” Lexy, Ida and Helen said in unison.

  Nans nodded. “That’s right. But the question is … is she the next victim, or the killer?”

  ***

  “My vote is that she’s the killer,” Ida bit into her brownie, then scowled at Lexy. “Are these fresh?”

  “They’re less than twenty-four hours old.” It was true, by Lexy’s calculation they were twenty-three hours and fifty-four minutes old.

  “She was one of our primary suspects before we found out about the breakfast meeting with Larry and Winston,” Helen pointed out.

  “But that drink seemed like the perfect way to poison Winston,” Lexy said. “When would Olivia have had a chance to poison him?”

  “Maybe Olivia and Larry were in on it together and then after they killed Winston, she tried to do away with Larry.” Ida raised her brows over her coffee cup.

  “Hmm … maybe.” Ruth slurped her coffee noisily.

  “Did you find out what the poison was?” Helen turned to Nans. “If we know then that could help us narrow down who had the means to use it.”

  Nans looked down at the piece of paper. “Aconite. Have any of you heard of it?”

  Ida nodded. “I have. It comes from a plant called wolfsbane. Very toxic.”

  “A plant? Does it grow around here?” Nans asked.

  Lexy’s heart kicked. “Wait a minute. Do you mean like an herb?”

  “Yes, exactly. It is an herb,” Ida said. “It has lots of medicinal uses, but you have to be very careful with it as it can be deadly. I suppose it could grow around here, but I haven’t heard of it too much in the wild. If you wanted to grow it yourself, though …”

  “I saw Olivia with a book on herbs when I was at the Fur Fun K9 Center.” The words rushed out of Lexy’s mouth.

  Ruth sucked in a breath. “So she would have had the knowledge about how to use it as a poison as well as how to grow it.”

  “And those stems I saw in the dumpster …” Lexy stared at the others as she let the words trail off.

  “And don’t forget your friend saw her the morning the photographer’s shop was broken into.” Helen reminded Lexy.

  “That’s right. And she sat next to Regis at the party, so she was probably afraid there was a picture of her switching the ice creams!”

  “I could see why she’d kill Regis and maybe even Winston, but why Larry?” Nans asked. “If the reason for the killings was that she didn’t want the Meadow Lane land developed, she could have spared him. He wouldn’t have developed the land.”

  “According to the terms of the will, shares of stock owned by each of the brothers would have reverted to Olivia upon their death. So, with her father and brothers out of the way she’d have controlling interest in Banks Development. Maybe she has grander plans than just stopping the Meadow Lane Development,” Ruth said.

  “Or maybe she didn’t want Larry getting in the way of her and Steve’s smuggling business,” Ida offered.

  “But with the million she inherited, does she really need to smuggle drugs?” Lexy asked.

  Nans gave Lexy a look and the three other ladies twittered. “Lexy, I think you’ve led too sheltered of a life. Drug smuggling can be a lot more lucrative than one-million-dollars.”

  “Maybe, but she can’t be that smart if all her efforts to make the murders look like accidents keep getting exposed.” Lexy picked a chocolate chip cookie—now a full day old—from the plate and crunched into it.

  “True, and by now she’ll know her unsuccessful attempt to kill Larry has been exposed.” Helen eyed them all warily. “Which could make her very dangerous.”

  “That’s right.” Nans nodded. “She’s probably getting desperate to cover her tracks, so we’d better proceed with caution.”

  Helen nodded. “There’s no telling to what extreme she’ll go to keep from being discovered.”

  Nans leaned across the table, her face grim. “If we’re right, she’s already killed twice, so there’s nothing to stop her from killing again.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Lexy could hardly keep her mind on work the rest of the day. Nans and the ladies had worked out a plan to try and expose Olivia. Ruth and Helen would put their internet skills to use trying to dig up anything they could on the Fur Fun K9 Center or the owner, Steve.

  Nans and Ida planned to hit the streets, asking their network of informants if they knew anything about a drug smuggling operation out of the K9 Center. Lexy’s job was to go to her agility class just like usual and try to dig up something on Olivia.

  At five o’clock, she closed up the shop and drove home to get Sprinkles, eating the lemon square she’d grabbed out of the case for supper on the way.

  A tingle of nerves ate away at her confidence as she drove toward the K9 Center. If Olivia was the killer, then maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to be digging up information on her.

  Then again, what could Olivia possibly do to her in a place full of people and dogs?

  “Maybe I should call Jack and let him know, just in case,” she said out loud to Sprinkles, who was panting happily in the passenger seat. “What do you think?”

  Sprinkles gave her an ‘are-you-crazy?’ look.

  “Right. Bad idea.”

  Lexy took the turn onto Meadow Road, the lemon square settling in her stomach like a brick.

  “I wonder if Nans has an update. She should have called by now.” She fished her cell phone out to check. “Oh, that’s right. I turned it off so I wouldn’t get interrupted while I was baking.”

  Lexy pressed the button and the phone turned on, then dinged to announce she had a message. It wasn’t from Nans. It was from Norman.

  She frowned as she hit the button to listen to the message. “I wonder what he wants?”

  “Hi, Lexy. I was doing some surveillance on our suspects and Olivia is acting pretty strange. I’ve followed her to that old farm on Meadow Road. I’m going in to see what she’s up to.”

  Lexy’s heart froze—they hadn’t yet told Norman about the attempt on Larry’s life. He had no idea Olivia was the killer!

  She fumbled with the phone to press the call back button, her grip tightening on the steering wheel as she waited for it to connect. Her gut churned when it passed straight to voice mail—he must have his phone turned off so he could stalk Olivia without having it ring and alert her!

  She pressed down on the accelerator. The farm was only about a half-mile ahead, but there was no time to waste. She had to warn Norman before Olivia killed him, too!

  ***

  Lexy’s heart raced as the farmhouse appeared, a small dot on the horizon. As she got closer, she could see Norman’s beige car parked in front of the barn.

  Should s
he go in honking her horn to warn him? No, that might panic Olivia and there was no telling what she’d do. Better to sneak up and surprise her from behind.

  She cut the engine, gliding to a stop beside Norman’s car. Glancing over at Sprinkles, she hesitated a moment. Should she bring the dog or leave her in the car? Better to bring her and make sure she could protect her rather than risk Olivia coming across the car and harming her.

  “Shhh! Sprinkles.” Lexy instructed the dog to be quiet and Sprinkles cocked her head to one side as if she understood. Lexy grabbed her leash and led her out the driver’s side.

  Closing the door quietly behind her, she crept up to the old barn. The sliding barn door was cracked open about a foot. Lexy stood just outside it, straining to hear. The sound of a whippoorwill broke the silence of the forest, followed by the lonely call of a mourning dove. Squirrels scurried in the dried leaves next to the barn.

  A creak sounded from inside.

  Was Norman in there?

  Lexy realized the old barn would be the perfect place to store drugs … or even make them. No wonder Olivia and Steve didn’t want the area developed into a mall.

  Slipping into the dim interior of the barn, she waited a few seconds for her eyes to adjust. Sprinkles stood quietly by her side.

  In front of her was an aisle flanked by horse stalls on either side. No sign of Norman or Olivia. To the right was a walled off section which must have contained another room and the small silo that was attached to the barn.

  She thought she heard muted voices coming from the other side.

  She started toward the sounds. An old board creaked as she put her weight on it and she froze in her tracks, her heartbeat hammering in her chest. No one came or yelled out. She continued on, Sprinkles at her side.

  Nearing the door to the walled off section, Lexy reached into her bag and pulled out the can of Mace. Sprinkles stopped short, her nose up in the air, sniffing. She looked up at Lexy apologetically, then lurched around the corner of the wall, through a hall and into the round silo room, pulling Lexy with her.